Legal issues

In the United States, the legal definition of
malicious injury is any injury committed with malice, hatred or one committed
spitefully or wantonly. Such an action must be willfully committed
with the knowledge that it is liable to cause injury. Injury
involving element of fraud, violence, wantonness, willfulness, or
criminality. An injury that is intentional, wrongful and without
just cause or excuse, even in the absence of hatred, spite or ill
will.

Feigning Injury

Injuries may be feigned by a person or even
non-human animal for various causes. Faking an injury may allow a
person to receive compensation, injury
cover, or may result in a team being awarded a penalty in a
game of football. Birds
such as the killdeer
are known to feign injury to lead a predator away from their nest.
The predator gives chase, believing them to be easy prey, but the
bird then flies away, hopefully having distracted the predator
sufficiently to prevent it from finding its nest.